Post 503: THE MAKING OF 'SNAG IT'

On 17 September 1926 King Oliver took his Jazz Band into the Chicago Studio to record his composition Snag It. Two takes of the tune survive. Both are available on YouTube.

VERSION ONE: This strikes me as the weaker version, but it has some interesting features (a Chorus led by the tuba; and a 2-bar Coda) that were not on the better version. Also, there is no vocal. My guess is that Oliver would not have been too happy with his own playing (some superfluous notes in the Introduction; and the now-famous four-bar break taken a  shade too hastily) and that he would have considered the final two choruses less tidy than on VERSION TWO.

VERSION TWO: This is better played overall. In structure, the main differences are that it drops the tuba solo chorus and substitutes a vocal chorus. There is also some vocal commenting (which I could have done without) over the final two choruses. Also, Version Two drops the Coda.

Both versions, however, were well crafted, using pretty much the same scheme (the 8-bar Introduction followed by seven 12-bar blues choruses, all in Eb). Oliver had clearly given the piece a lot of thought. It was to have that striking dramatic eight-bar Introduction and then an ensemble first chorus before a second chorus in which the trombone would take the lead against a gentle long-note accompaniment. He would begin the fifth chorus on his cornet with the four-bar break which has since become the one thing in the recording that everybody remembers. The final two choruses would be based on a pleasant riff (played gently by the reeds, with a counter-melody from the cornet and steady soft accompaniment).

But what I have deliberately not mentioned so far is something that strikes me as one of the most interesting features - the rhythmic accompaniment to the third chorus. The clarinet plays the melody, supported by a repeated two-bar rhythmic pattern that goes like this:| 

If that seems hard to follow, listen to it at 1 minute 14 seconds into this YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6fkstiMAbc

This inventive, unusual rhythmic pattern is, for me, one of the best things in 'Snag It'. I think it is something we could all attempt (not only when playing this tune) as it would give badly-needed variety to our rhythmic accompaniments.

It is quite tricky to get the drums, guitar or banjo, bass and piano all hitting this rhythm precisely together. It may need practice. But it is well worth the effort.

Listen again to the full King Oliver recording and see what you think.

Post 226: TRADITIONAL JAZZ - A HORRIBLE DIN!

I must be honest: on very rare occasions I find the sound of a traditional jazz band to be a horrible din.

There are very good traditional jazz performances and very bad ones. I wonder whether you would agree with the following. (For the purpose of these examples, I am talking about the musical sounds produced by a six-piece or seven-piece band.)

LEVEL ONE - THE LOWEST - HORRIBLE DIN LEVEL: Most of the instruments are unnecessarily and excessively amplified. The drummer plays too loud and doesn't take much note of what the front line players are doing. The rhythm section sounds like one collective bass drum. The front line players - especially in full ensemble - take an 'every man for himself' approach and blast away, regardless of what notes the others are playing. It is sometimes impossible for a listener to pick out instruments individually (especially bad if there are four in the front line). The result is a horrible noise! A din!

LEVEL TEN - THE HIGHEST - TOP QUALITY LEVEL:  All instruments individually can be clearly heard. There is little or no amplification. The percussionist plays discreetly, never drowning out other instruments but always decorating and complementing what is going on. The rhythm section plays like one man, maintaining a steady, pulsing beat, never dragging and never speeding up (unless as part of an agreed special effect). The front line players listen carefully to each other, producing wonderful polyphony and syncopation by complementing and responding to what the others are doing and not trespassing on the same notes. The overall effect is like the best chamber music of the classical music world.

In practice, most traditional jazz performances fall somewhere around LEVEL EIGHT. Yes, most are closer to the top quality level than the horrible din level.

Post 91: DRUMMING - DON'T GET ME STARTED

I am in a bad mood today. Sorry, but if you read on, you will have to put up with an old crabstick getting something off his chest.

In 2016 I have heard so much traditional jazz being messed up by bad drumming that I can stay quiet no longer.

The rôle of the drums - or any kind of percussion - in traditional jazz is to inspire the rest of the band by providing a pulse that stirs and stimulates the musicians and audience alike.

Drummers need highly-developed skills, sensitivity and an understanding of the structure of the music. It has been said for many decades that good drumming should be 'felt and not heard'. I think that is exactly the effect percussionists should strive for in every performance.

Some of the finest drumming occurs when it provides a sparing, dainty colouring (for example, behind a clarinet solo). Therefore, drummers should treat their kits delicately, rather than as items to be thrashed.

They must also pick up immediately and correctly the tempo at which the Leader 'beats in' the tune; and they should learn to maintain it like clockwork.

Unfortunately these things do not always happen.

A drummer has power. He can use that power to spoil a performance in a number of ways. One of them is failing to maintain the tempo correctly. I have attended performances where the drummer 'dragged' the tempo, while the front line fought to keep the tune moving. This internal battle was horrible to witness and ruined any chance of making good music.

I saw a leader giving a signal for a quiet chorus and the whole band responded well - apart from the drummer, who continued thrashing everything in sight!

Several of the drummers I have watched in these last few months have been insensitive to what the melody instruments were doing. A typical example was the drummer who was constantly using heavy offbeat cymbal crashes, even when the clarinet was trying to play a delicate, pretty solo chorus.

Quite often I have heard drummers failing to stop during a clarinet's two-bar 'break', thereby horribly spoiling the intended effect.

I could give more examples. But I think I have made my point.

I have occasionally listened to a six-piece or seven-piece band and thought they would actually sound better if they got rid of the drummer, leaving the 'rhythm' to the banjo or guitar and the bass or sousaphone.

The trouble is that anyone can buy a drum kit and call himself a musician. He doesn't need to study music or learn to read it. He simply has to bash various bits of kit and all will be fine. That's how some see it.

You hear bad drummers complain that they are short of gigs. It's no surprise.

Drummers should study closely the work of the greatest percussionists. And fortunately there are plenty of these.

Observe that fine young drummer Justin Peake in this video - CLICK ON TO WATCH. You need watch only the first few minutes (they are playing Climax Rag) to get the point. Justin uses a full range of equipment but he does not thrash it. Note the economy of his wrist movements. Blending with John (banjo) and Tyler (string bass), he maintains a rock-steady four-four beat; and he listens carefully to the front line, stopping at the right moments, and using a cymbal gently but effectively to punctuate. He also shows how to support other players really quietly, for example during the banjo solo chorus and during the 'quiet' chorus that Marla signals.

Another tasteful and sensitive drummer based in New Orleans is Benji Bohannon. You can watch him (also with The Shotgun Jazz Band) by clicking on THIS VIDEO. I hope you will enjoy it.

And for another example of how important well-played percussion can be, listen to an extraordinary, historic recording in which the drummer is only eleven years old - BY CLICKING HERE.

And, although this final example is not exactly traditional jazz, try any recording by the Coon Sanders Nighthawks Orchestra of the 1920s (plenty are on YouTube) and listen to their drummer Carleton Coon. His playing is always discreet, never obtrusive; and yet it propels the band along. That's the way to do it - 'felt and not heard'!

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Footnotes:
Reader Carsten Pigott in England has written to recommend Bill Harty (you can hear him in Lew Stone 1933 recordings - on YouTube). Bill could play robustly and  energetically in a fast-paced piece but could adjust his style and technique when playing slower numbers, such as Al Bowlly ballads with Ray Noble's Orchestra of the same era.  Carsten says 'Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones' drummer since 1963, is on record as saying that Harty was the best percussionist Britain ever produced'.

Reader Barrie Marshall (Lancaster, England) wrote:
Hi Ivan,

An interesting piece about drummers, Just one thing to say about one particular drummer who was in a band I played with: the effect was opposite, an ex-dance band drummer, I sometimes think they fit in with New Orleans jazz bands better than those who think they know. Anyway, this particular drummer used his brushes all the time and played them gently, so gently sometimes I could not hear him at all, and don't get me started on piano players who tinkle away as musicians do a solo instead of giving them chords and rhythm!

Barrie

Reader Bob Andersen of San Diego wrote:

Reminds me of Baby Dodds line, something like,'' the drummer should be like an idling engine"...

Post 9: WHEN TRADITIONAL JAZZ DISAPPOINTS

I have been trying to put my finger on the reasons why I enjoy some traditional jazz performances far less than others.

I like to hear all the individual instruments clearly. The quality and balance of the sound matter. I like the musicians to play in tune and to listen carefully to each other so that they are truly a team. This involves producing appropriate harmonies and also giving the music a conversational quality, where phrases are complemented and responded to by other players. I like the lead to be passed around, with the backing instruments putting in subtle, appropriate decoration, or working together in creating harmonies and varied rhythmic patterns. I like the tempo to feel appropriate to the piece of music and to be properly maintained. I am not impressed by mere exhibitionism.

It does not matter whether the tune is a simple 8-bar number or a complex multi-part rag. In all cases, that's how I like it to be played.

So often, performances of this kind are not what we get.

A common cause of poor quality is loud, insensitive drumming. Similarly, amplification frequently makes it impossible to distinguish particular instruments, or distorts the sound. I wish bands and organizers would ask themselves whether they really need so much amplification.

Sometimes I am unable to hear clearly the notes played by a keyboard or by a string bass because the musicians have plugged their instruments into amplifiers that give a pulpy sound, blurring the clean, percussive natural timbres.

Sometimes the tempo is fine at the start but the band gradually slows down and the tune begins to drag.

It takes only one musician playing out of tune or failing to listen carefully to the others to spoil the performance. In those cases where a band has both a clarinet and a saxophone, each going its own way (but often trespassing on the other's notes), the result can be unpleasant, to my ear. Saxophones in particular, if played too loud and without attention to what the other musicians are doing, can have a blurring effect.

Sometimes, several of these forms of distortion go on at once. It is as if treacle is being poured over the music.

So I am disappointed by what I hear.

But maybe it's just me. Even when I do not enjoy a performance, there are plenty of other people in the audience who seem happy with it and applaud heartily at the end. I suppose I'm just a finicky old fuddy-duddy.